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new jig saw

Hello, I'm trying to shop for a good jigsaw to use for craft projects and I find the reviews somewhat confusing. I want to use it to cut out patterns in plywood (dinosaur shapes, rocket ships etc) Can most jigsaws handle this job??? I think I have narrowed it done to the Bosch 1591EVSK

If I understood correctly this would allow me to cut out scrollwork right??? Any recommendations would be appreciated

Re: new jig saw

I have a bosch barrel grip variable speed jig saw that I bought off amazon a couple Christmas's ago. I like it a lot. Unfortunately I cant remember the model number and its out in the garage (detached garage, 20* out and very windy... a whole 200 feet away!!). When I take the dog out later I'll check for the model. Anyway it is a very good saw, didn't coat an arm & a leg (see Festfool). It has been used for trimming openings on our cherry kitchen cabinets, neighbors oak cabinets, plywood characters for Bible school, a lawn ornament flag holder character out of PVC and various other rough cuts. It is able to make fairly tight turns on curved pieces, although on the lawn ornament guy I had to make a couple cuts into the curve to get the room needed around the mouth and chin.

Bosch Model 1591EVS

Last edited by bp21901; 02-20-2009 at 10:43 AM.
Reason: updated with model #

Re: new jig saw

I bought a bosh several years ago and have been really, really happy with it. It's not a barrel grip, but it can be held as such, which I find extremely useful when I need more precision. I used to make furniture and would use the saw to cut up boards before jointing and plaining them. It has plenty of power to chew through rock maple and oaks.

As the others have indicated, if you envision doing any level of intricate or complex sawing, often referred to as fret work, you would be better served to get a scroll saw. If you get to a point where it is too difficult to hold the saw and the work or the turns are too tight, to complex, or intricate, then you'll need a scroll saw.

Re: new jig saw

thank you for the replies. They are very helpfull. Okay so it sounds like starting with a jig saw is a good idea and then as the need arises, perhaps invest in a scroll saw...any recs for scroll saws?? are they expesive??

Re: new jig saw

I would recommend the DeWalt scrollsaw. You'll get the most bang for your buck and a very smooth, non-vibrating saw. A friend of mine sold Hegner scrollsaws which is a top of the line saw. She was well versed in the equipment, wrote books on the subject, and taught classes on how to use them. The ONLY saw that she had in her class room other than a Hegner was a DeWalt, it was nearly as good at a fraction of the price. I've had opportunity to use a few different brands and the #1 problem with most of them is vibration, which causes rough cuts, pinched fingers, and broken blades.

I suffer from CDO ... Its like OCD, but in alphabetical order, LIKE IT SHOULD BE!!!